John Cornyn’s path to become the Senate GOP’s No. 2 Republican is now clear after a potential challenger decided against challenging the Texas Republican for the plum spot.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) informed his colleagues Thursday he would stay as the Senate Republican Conference chairman, the No. 3 spot, averting a potentially messy leadership election after the GOP lost ground in Senate elections on Tuesday.

Cornyn oversaw the National Republican Senatorial Committee the past two election cycles, but that does not appear to be a roadblock to his ascension atop the conference even though the NRSC failed to win the majority despite a favorable map. While other challengers may yet emerge, Cornyn has so far avoided any opponents in the race.

Initially, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) planned to run for the spot, which is being vacated by retiring Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, as did Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.). But both men dropped their bids.

Throughout the year, Thune continually kept his options open for running for the whip job, but ultimately decided against it. Thune and Cornyn are seen as possible successors to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who faces a potentially tough reelection bid in 2014.

Cornyn is also up for reelection in 2014, meaning the top two Republicans in the GOP Conference could face reelection pressures back home just as Congress tackles pressing national issues.

“America continues to face enormous challenges and the consequences have never been greater,” Thune said in a statement. “Our country is at a crossroads and communicating our positive Republican vision to grow the economy, create jobs, and restore our nation’s fiscal health couldn’t be more important. Senate Republicans have solutions and we will work hard to aggressively take our message directly to the American people.”

There’s still a question about who will lead the NRSC in the 2014 cycle amid the GOP’s poor performance on Tuesday night. Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran says he has enough support to win the job, but Ohio Sen. Rob Portman is considering challenging him.